My Not-So-Secret Shame: I Have Lost Interest In Football

Yeah, I’m not going to watch the Super Bowl this weekend. I have no rooting interest, the halftime show is pop drivel and I’m not a fan of the untrammeled capitalism that actually has made a separate sport out of watching (and rating) the commercials.

But let’s get down to brass tacks. It’s not just the Super Bowl. Football is a stain on American life. Football is popular because it works well on television, has the constant stops and starts that feeds our ADHD culture and it lends itself so easily to gambling. Football promotes a culture of violence, mindless conservative patriotism and corporate avarice. The league and its team owners revel in its success in breaking the players union–all the while it has refused to seriously address the horrible brain trauma and disability that the sport inflicts on the players–coincidence? I think not.

Why Can’t We Be Friends?

While attending a meeting of a coalition of groups that have been working together for about two years to improve the health and safety of the neighborhoods in the city of Syracuse, I was confronted with the quote you see above, the meeting facilitator had printed it out on a big sheet of newsprint hanging from the easel at the front of the room:

Still Organizing In The Street

It’s been a year of change here at “Still Racing . . .”  After twenty years, I left my position as a community organizer with Syracuse United Neighbors.  I have taken a new job as an advocate for disability rights with ARISE–a center for independent living (CIL) here in Syracuse. There are 37 CIL’s in NY State and their mission is to help persons with disabilities live independent lives in the community–rather than being forced to live in institutional settings such as nursing homes.

The scale is different. SUN is a small grassroots group with two employees and an annual budget of $150,000.  ARISE is a sprawling social service provider with over 700 employees and a budget over $15 million. The atmosphere is more corporate–I have a cubicle, a name tag, I sign in and out of our building.  I am no longer salaried, I am an hourly worker.

Time To Post More!

High Hopes–Met And Exceeded!

Local columnist for the Post-Standard Sean Kirst (and a Bruce fan), once wrote a column about the best one-night rock show ever in Syracuse. He picked a 1957 rock and roll caravan, where up to 10 groups traveled together and each played 3-4 of their hits. These caravans were a big thing in the 50’s and 60’d–a musical revue with girl groups, soul, rockabilly and crooners all sharing the bill.

The May 13th performance of Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band in Albany, NY reminded me of this style of show. The difference of course is that Bruce & the E Streeters were the only band–and the music may have been even more diverse.

Live From The Promised Land

As I eagerly await my trip to Albany next week, for my ninth-ever Bruce show, here’s a recap of the prior eight: w/ links to the reviews I’ve done since I started blogging and the set lists courtesy of Brucebase

Updated to include 5/13/14 concert.

Crunch Time

I attended my first Syracuse Crunch game since their inaugural season in 1994. This being the Crunch’s 20th anniversary, I figured why not give it another shot! (Discount tickets from my wife’s employer didn’t hurt either.)

(photos by Scott Thomas of Views Infinitum)

I really do not know why it took so long for me to get back to a Crunch game. Hockey is a sport that is best seen in person. The game was exciting, had some scoring and was pretty well attended for a bitter cold CNY evening. I had, on the face of it, pretty lousy seats–just a couple rows from the top and closer to one end than the other. But however much the locals like to criticize the War Memorial, there really isn’t a bad seat in the house. It’s small enough that even the “nosebleed” seats give you a great view.